Another beautiful float
proceeds along Chiang Mai City streets during the Yi Peng parade.

Dressed in traditional
northern costumes, these beautiful young women prepare to set their
krathongs free into the river after the parade.

The Association of
Private Higher Education Institutions of Thailand’s Miss Noppamas was as
beautiful as the flowery float she sat upon.

Young men beat
sabudchai drums at the opening ceremony.

Noppamas, as beautiful as the ‘Nine Golds Found In Heaven’

by Rebecca Laroche

It is the full moon of the twelfth month in the ancient
Kingdom of Sukhothai. The delicate spires of gilded temples and calm
waterways which surround the city like a necklace of jewels glow gently
under the caressing moonlight.

A calm has enveloped the small Kingdom and the only
sounds are the gentle collision of waves against wood as boats are slowly
rowed down the blue canals.

The moon continues to rise, her light glides from house
to house. She is a gentle illuminator, slowly lighting each part of the
city. When the calm lamplighter has finished her work, movement is
perceived. Inside the wooden houses which seem to float on the undulating
water, firefly lamps twinkle, golden punctuation to the veil of silver light
covering all.

Through the open windows, people are seen moving in the
dream atmosphere. Shining silk rustles and molten darknesses of long hair
are arranged. Honey colored skin is set off by the glow of red rubies and
hair made fragrant by jasmine.

In the center of the dream is a palace of burnished teak
with cornices sinuously curving upward, eliminating angle and edge. The
whole edifice flows in its stillness. The moon water surrounding the palace
is a liquid frame for the pliant building in its embrace.

A tall woman is leaning on a triangular pillow. She is
slender with honey colored skin, her oval face and aquiline nose in contrast
to the serene expression in her large eyes. All her concentration is fixed
on her hands. Simple leaves of a banana tree, the freshest of gardenias, the
warm fragrance insinuating itself into the corners of the room and incense
of sandalwood brought from the City of Sandalwood, the capitol of the
‘Land of a Million Elephants.’

She tilts her head gently and studies her work as she
molds the leaves into the shape of the ‘Jeweled Lotus.’ Satisfied with
her work, she lays the once humble, now transfigured leaf-flower to one
side. Taking the gardenia from a silver vessel, she raises it and studies
its perfection. She is tempted but does not inhale the fragrance of the
flower. This is a gift for the great mother Kongkha, the Queen of
Waters, and she leaves the full scent of the flower for Her.

The lady lays the flower into the Jeweled Lotus. Studying
her work, she is satisfied. Finishing her gift, her delicate hand selects a
candle of the smoothest wax and a stick of the finest Persian-rose incense
which she places in the center of the transfigured banana leaf, which is now
a Lotus. She lives in a world of symbolism and why should this humble leaf
not be a lotus if she intends it to be?

Now ready, she unfolds her body and three young maidens
appear from corners of the luxurious apartment. They bring her a length of
cloth inlaid with jewels. Yellow as young corn, green as rice seedlings and
clear as the water from a spring, the jewels seem to be the source of all
color as they flash and sparkle in the lamplight which illuminates the room
yet does not flood it.

The young women lay the cloth over one shoulder and
across her bosom. This has completed her costume of gold woven sarong and
upper garment which leaves the honey of her shoulders and delicate arms bare
to be caressed by the night air.

Walking slowly and lightly through the corridors, she
leaves the inner rooms of the palace and gently descends a staircase leading
to the Royal Pier beside the translucent river.

As she walks, every person standing on the hall’s
sides, whose sole duty it is to attend her, folds into a graceful bow.

She is the golden jewel of the palace and it is said
among those who have never seen her that ‘She is the image of the superb
Lotus. She floats on the air like the fragrance of perfume.’

Her name is ‘Noppamas’. This name was given to
her at birth by a holy astrologer, who said she would be as beautiful as the
‘nine golds found in heaven.’

Her courtiers are by the river, kneeling on the ground in
positions which show their reverence for she, whom they know is a goddess
who, transferring part of her essence into human form, has descended to
earth.

When lady Noppamas reaches the river bank, the
moon is directly above the magic city. Its form is reflected and its light
travels through the water, making silver the threads of gentle current.

Kneeling on a frosty silver and green brocade which has
been lain at the river bank, she lifts the lotus. Courtiers bow and light
the incense and candle which flares once, then glows in the night air.

Raising the living lotus to her smooth forehead, she
offers a silent prayer to Konkha, the Mother of Waters.

She places the glowing Lotus gently on the water’s
delicate skin.

The water accepts the gift and it glides gently into the
silver moonlight currents.

Thus, the lady Noppamas created Loy Krathong.

Loy Krathong and
Yi Peng explained

Supatatt Dangkrueng

According to the history written by King Mongkut in 1863,
the Loy Krathong festival has its roots in ancient Brahmin culture, going
back some 700 years. The spirits of the river were given offerings which
were sailed in the river in small boats (krathongs) and in this way the
owner of the krathong would gain absolution. This was a Brahmin belief.

The small boats fashioned by the beautiful and talented
Nang Noppamas, the daughter of a Brahmin priest and wife of King Phra Ruang,
were notable for their construction and beauty. It was this king who then
dedicated the krathong to the memory of the Buddha, and decreed that the
event would be called Loy Krathong and that it should become an annual
celebration to commemorate the skill and beauty of his consort. In this way
he lifted it out of Brahmin culture and installed it into the accepted
Buddhist way of life. This is the reason that the krathongs now carry three
incense sticks representing the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha.

Loy Krathong is known as the Yi Peng Festival in Northern
Thailand because the way the northern people count the months is different
from other regions. Yi refers to the second month of the year in the
northern calendar and is the same month as November. Peng refers to the
night of the full moon, so Yi Peng is the full moon in the second northern
calendar month.

In the Yi Peng Festival, people always decorate their
krathong with flowers, joss sticks and candles which will then sail away,
taking with them bad health, bad luck and unhappiness.

Lanterns are well-known symbols in the Yi Peng Festival
too, being used to decorate houses and temples in worship of the guardian
spirits. There are four kinds of lantern used in the festival including the
hand-held Rabbit Lantern, the hot air Balloon Lantern, the Hanging Lantern
for religious worship, and the Spin Lantern installed at the temples. The
belief in lanterns is that the lights inside compare with the wisdom the
people will get in the next life.